1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems for supporting body parts of a product during assembly, and more particularly to the structures for supporting the body parts of a vehicle during assembly thereof into the finished vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the conventional automobile assembly plant, a series of identical body parts are made and placed on an assembly line. The assembly line comprises a number of movable support assemblies. A body part rests on each support assembly and is transported on it through a series of work stations where various types of work are performed on the body part preparatory to its assembly into the finished vehicle.
Each support assembly has a number of support elements on which the body part rests. Because the body parts of the series are essentially identical to each other, the support elements are conventionally configured to matingly fit against the particular portion of the particular type of body part, and to be used repeatedly for similar body parts. The conventional support elements comprised a metal block on the assembly which had a curved engagement surface which substantially matched the curvature of the body part. A thin urethane coating about 3/16 of an inch thick covered the block.
A major disadvantage of this type of support element is that the hard shape of the metal block tends to dent the sheet metal of the body part. Also, because the support element is rigidly configured to a specific shape of body part, a change in the type of car being manufactured requires a complete retooling of the assembly line. Additionally, the manufacture of the blocks with curved surfaces is relatively expensive.